G1 News

Despite the Android platform bringing smart phone connectivity to the masses in handsets like the HTC Tattoo and T-Mobile Pulse, French developer Gameloft is finding it lacking for gaming, reporting that they are scaling back development for the fledgling operating system.

“We have significantly cut our investment in Android platform, just like…many others,” Gameloft’s Director of Finance Alexandre de Rochefort told investors at a conference.

The Android Market is said to be a major factor in this decision, with the service lacking the ’shop window’ browsing functionality of the App Store, as well as the absence of an iTunes-style desktop client for computers.

“[Android Market] is not as neatly done as on the iPhone. Google has not been very good to entice customers to actually buy products. On Android, nobody is making significant revenue. We are selling 400 times more games on iPhone than on Android,” Rochefort continued.

With Apple’s App Store contributing 13% of revenue into Gameloft’s coffers last quarter, and a steady stream of titles garnering both critical and financial acclaim on the iPhone, it comes as no surprise as they focus efforts on the more financially viable platforms.

If Android is lagging behind Apple’s App Store success story due to the iPhone’s huge existing install base of users, could impending high profile Google-powered phones such as the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 and Motorola MILESTONE redress the balance?

If so, it is likely that Gameloft, one of the largest and most prolific mobile game publishers, will return to this potential gaming goldmine at a later stage.

Source

Sony Ericsson’s Android-packing XPERIA X10 has just been unveiled for US journos to salivate over, and whilst the reception has been a touch less than rapturous, one real concern from Gizmodo is for the high-end handset’s pricepoint.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the phone will come in at £528 ($879.99) SIM-free, seemingly a huge deal on the side of the Atlantic accustomed to heavily subsidised handsets.

Networks over there are not as willing to take the hit on the cost of the smartest of smart phones, hence the occasional delay before reaching US soil at a reasonable price (see XPERIA X1, HTC Touch Pro etc.).

Still, the X10’s pricing really isn’t out of sync with devices residing in the VIP lounge of the mobile phone party…if anything, it’s a bit of a bargain.

A cursory glance over the eXpansys site has the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2 available for £605, whilst the Palm Pre retails at a steep £499. The less said about the iPhone 3GS’ heart-stopping £879.99 ($1,463!) price on Play.com, the better…

The pricing for the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 seems entirely justified given the superfast 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 4.1″ capacitive touch screen, 8.1 megapixel camera and impressive user interface.

The X10 is the first phone from Sony Ericsson to sport their propietary new graphical overlay, now officially dubbed ‘Nexus’ and engineered to seamlessly work over a range of operating systems.

Nexus UI is a heavily graphics-driven amalgam of the best of a user’s on- and offline content, with SocialScape scouring tweets and status updates and presenting them on your home page, whilst MediaScape explores your movies, music and photos suggesting artists you might like.

The X10 seemed in better shape, with Nexus certainly working far smoother and more responsively than demoed at the initial announcement, but it still has a little ways to go before being ready for public consumption early in 2010.

For a more detailed explanation of the XPERIA X10, see Omio’s coverage from the UK event, as well as taking a gander at the video below.

After doing the rounds on operating systems from Symbian to Windows Mobile, fring has finally been made available for mobiles running Google’s Android platform.

fring is a great application which combines the best of both instant messaging and VoIP, allowing users to make calls on Skype, Google Talk and MSN over both 3G and Wi-Fi, as well as type away on AIM and Twitter through an integrated contact list.

Whilst fring is compatible with all versions of Android, there are already some teething problems as noted by Unwired View, even on the shiny new Motorola DROID.

The DROID cannot accept SkypeOut calls (those using credit to connect to landlines etc.), and ending calls on any Android phone might cause fring to go a little wild and repeat the ‘disconnection’ tone multiple times.

Point your phone in the direction of the Android Market to try it out now, and be sure to let us know how you find it.

Check out their informercial-quality video explaining fring on Android below…

Source

Be still my beating heart.

Just as we thought the plucky T-Mobile G1 was about to be left behind as the Motorola DROID and Android 2.0’s charms courted everyone’s attention, a man named Akira Harada has given us all hope by porting it across to the original Google phone!

Whilst the update isn’t fully optimised, and the G1 does need to be “rooted” for this to work (instructions here), the video proof shows that it is a risk I will be willing to take for Android awesomeness.

Expect to see it on XDA Developers any time from now, and a link to it from our site about 15 minutes later.

In a brilliant move by Google which has seen share prices in GPS rivals Garmin and TomTom plummet, the search company has unveiled a new turn-by-turn navigation solution which integrates Street View, satellite imagery and even voice commands in one seamless service.

Oh, and it is coming for free to Android phones running the new 2.0 ‘Eclair’ software.

Demonstrated here on the gorgeous new Motorola DROID, Google Maps Navigation attempts to erase all of the frustrations leveled at current GPS systems in one fell swoop. See it in motion below!

Enabling searching for destinations in plain English, 3-D satellite imagery that shifts into Street View for a real representation when nearing a location, even constantly updated points of interest and local traffic conditions show that Google are truly utilising the connectivity of mobile phones with Maps Navigation.

Users are even able to place their phone into a car dock, which fires up a simplified landscape user interface for use on the go.

The question is, when will Google be making all our journeys easier? Well, Google have said Maps Navigation will come for free with Android 2.0, which we know to be installed on the Motorola DROID (arriving on US network Verizon on November 6th)…as for when the UK will see it is still unclear.

Word has it that the HTC Hero is one phone which will be making the leap to Android 2.0, let’s hope that the new iteration of Maps makes it along for the ride!

The second point is will this remain an Android exclusive? Whilst iPhone owners shell out for GPS apps that do a lot less yet charge a lot more money, does Google finally have a stand-out ‘killer’ feature for their mobile platform over Apple’s OS?

The iPhone 3GS could certain handle this on a technical level, but no beans have been spilled regarding porting the service across at this time.

“Apple is a close partner, and millions of users experience Google Maps on the iPhone,” said a Google spokesperson in a suitably cryptic e-mailed statement.

What is for certain is that Google Maps Navigation will soon providing a free service – without ads – that puts many competitors to shame. Those charging a monthly fee for the ‘privilege’ of us using GPS navigation on our phones will soon have to justify that against Google’s impressive yet data-hungry solution.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the update to Google Mobile Maps was not about devouring existing paid navigation services, but rather about fulfilling consumer needs.

“Anywhere we can provide a customer benefit, we’ll go after it,” Schmidt said.

We’ll see if that comment bears out by how long it takes to port Google Maps Navigation to other handsets, we think that this feature in Android’s 2.0 ‘Eclair’ update might be a little too tasty to share…

A great little idea from Android And Me, some awesome Android-themed wallpapers for your favourite Google phones! Some spooky Halloween efforts, from bats to ghosts!

Download the Halloween Android wallpapers from here!

They should be compatible with whichever Android phone you have from the HTC Magic to the original G1, although the resolution may be wrong for the new HTC Tattoo…

Simply save them to your PC or Mac, and transfer them over to the handset’s memory stick. Simples!

From being the unsung phone maker working behind the scenes (see all the early Orange smartphones, Sony Ericsson Xperia X1) to taking centre stage, HTC is the manufacturer that we have the most respect for.

From taming Windows Mobile with TouchFLO to embracing a new operating system in Android (T-Mobile G1, baby!), the Taiwanese phone maker hasn’t put a foot wrong in courting public affections and tackling new and challenging smart phone ideas with aplomb.

In an attempt to put themselves into the forfront even further, they have begun a serious push with a marketing blitz usually reserved for Nokia phones and the like. Using the strapline ‘Quietly Brilliant’ (how fitting!), both HTC and their leading handsets get a chance to show the close, symbiotic relationship we have with our mobiles, and cleverly shows just how important to our lives they are.

Android phones feature heavily including the slightly curvier US-model HTC Hero, as does UK pop spank warblers McFly. Oh well, the lord giveth…

And just like that, weeks of planning, preparation and subterfuge goes out of the window…

The new Eclair/Android 2.0 sporting DROID, known in many circles going by the name of ‘Sholes’, has finally been outed…by Motorola themselves.

A premature posting on their site leaked all the juicy details, an embarrassing error that still keeps us excited, but undoes all that great hype work ahead of November’s big reveal.

The DROID feature set is pretty impressive, although we had an idea of what we were going to be getting for some time. That sleek slider form factor is easy on the eye too.

Full specs:

- CDMA 1X 800/1900, EVDO rev. A connectivity
- 550 MHz CPU
- Android 2.0 (Eclair) OS
- 3.7″ WVGA (480 x 854 pixels); 16:9 widescreen; PPI 267 touchscreen display
- 5mpx camera with 4x digital zoom, autofocus, image stabilization, dual LED flash and up to 24 fps; D1 (720×480) resolution video capture
- full QWERTY side slide keyboard
- Accelerometer, aGPS and sGPS support, proximity and ambient light sensors
- Wi-Fi b/g, Stereo Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR, USB 2.0 high speed with micro USB connector, 3.5 mm headset jack
- 16 GB microSD pre-installed; supports up to 32 GB microSD expandable
- Webkit HTML5 support, Flash 10 (available 2010)
- 1400 mAh Li Ion battery with up to 270 hrs. standby and 385 mins talk time
- Dimensions: 2.4 x 4.6 x .5 in.; 60.00 x 115.80 x 13.70 mm
- Weight: 6 oz.; 169 g

Google on-board means Mail and Maps are all present and correct, as is the Android Marketplace.

Missed the cool early virals taking a pot-shot at a certian apple-flavoured competitor? Check it below.

Our only two questions are:

1. What happened to the MOTOBlur interface seen on the Motorola DEXT? Not for Verizon’s tastes on the DROID?

2. When is it coming to the UK?

3. How can Lucasfilm own the word “Droid” What the heck is that about?

Yes, strictly three questions. I lied.

Boy Genius Report has been teasing with the new Motorola Android handset for a while now, and the MotoDROID has finally been revealed in a quick video showing off the brief boot sequence on the handset.

It’s all very cool and ominous, until the croakey ‘DROID’ voice lets us know that we’re still in for a cool experience from the folk that brought us ‘HELLOMOTO’.

Whilst the DEXT had a slight Android flavour enhanced with widgets, the MotoDROID seems set to give users the full Google monty.

UPDATE: More info from Boy Genius, a whole host of screenshots of Android 2.0! Eclairs for everyone!

http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/10/16/android-2-0-screenshot-walkthrough/

The Android handset which we have dreamt of has arrived, and from a slightly unlikely source…

Acer’s Liquid A1 is easily the most powerful Android device yet seen, promising a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU (last seen wowing audiences in the HTC HD2 and WinMo-powered Acer F1, less so in the Toshiba TG01), pre-loaded with Android’s ‘Donut’ interface with some propietary fiddling.

With A huge 3.5″ capacitive WVGA touchscreen, the Acer Liquid continues to wow with the biggest Android display yet seen, and the featureset does not fail to disappoint either.

The smartphone load-out is present and correct: HSDPA, Bluetooth, USB, stereo FM radio and Wi-Fi, as well as GPS and a microSD card slot. The camera is no slouch neither, with a 5 megapixel lens doing the honours…

A release date remains elusive, and the pic is courtesy of @LeilaMakki…more details as soon as we get them!

So exciting, and a hardcore Android handset is long overdue! Now, how to get the HTC Sense UI on there…